Dario Solid, Buc Bats Break Out in 14-2 Win

K-Man keeps on connecting; he beat out a dribbler to open against Framber Valdez. Two outs later, J-Bell made it count when he bombed a 3-2 sinker the oppo way and into the second deck to give Dario Agrazal a 2-0 lead. Two pitches into the Astro’s turn, George Springer swatted one the distance, too. Dario gave up a couple of more hard hit balls and rang up a couple of K, so a mixed start. In the second, Eli and Corey D hit back-to-back two-baggers (Corey’s was a hustle double off a glove). He scored on K-Man’s two-out rap. He stole second; Melky reached on an error, but Newman was tossed out at home on a bang-bang play. Houston went down quietly. J-Bell walked and Joey O singled with one gone in the third. A bouncer moved them along, and it paid off when Corey D won a 10-pitch battle and chased the pair home with a rap. JHK followed with a knock before it ended on a nice play by SS Alex Bregman; po’ Valdez is at 69 pitches. A walk and single put the Astros in business. After a ground out, Bregman K’ed on a foul tip and Robinson Chirinos was nailed trying to swipe home on a delayed steal/rundown; the Pirates infield executed the play by the textbook.

Chris Devenski answered the fourth inning call and spun a clean frame. Dario was tapped for a two-out double but no damage. The Bucs continued to discontinue against Devenski in the fifth. Agrazal walked the first Astro, followed by a clean-up around the horn DP. A single and fly got him into the dugout. Corey D opened the sixth with another 200′ hustle double, digging out an ankle-high change. He didn’t have to bust it after that; JHK blasted a ball onto the Astro-Train RR tracks in left center. An out later, K-Man singled before the music stopped with the count 8-1. Agrazal had Bergman 0-2 and walked him; make these guys swing with the lead, Dario! He took the hint after a visit by Uncle Ray and finished up cleanly. Hector Rondon got the ball in the seventh and walked Joey O with one down and Corey with two away, but left them in place. Ric Rod climbed the slope after Dario went six IP, allowing one run on a leadoff homer, five hits, three walks and three strikeouts after 99 tosses. He gave up an leadoff knock, then whiffed a pair and got a grounder to cruise out.

Collin McHugh had a routine eighth. Chris Stratton dusted the rosin and gave up a single on a ball he deflected, followed by a double. He escaped allowing one run. 1B Tyler White took the mound for Houston (for the fourth time this year w/6.75 ERA), along with a wholesale position swap in the ninth. Starling walked on four pitches – guess Tyler isn’t loose yet – and so did J-Bell, on a full count. Then Joey O took him deep, Eli walked and Corey D doubled before an out was registered. A sac fly added another, and K-Man’s homer piled on the ‘Stro’s arm-saver. After a walk and double, C Max Stassi trotted in as Tyler’s ERA climbed to 21.60, and coaxed a grounder from J-Bell. Stratton finished out, slowed only by a two-out single. Raise the Roger.

Well, the Pirates aren’t the only team that suffers when starting a depth guy and then dipping into the bullpen in the fourth. Dario had his share of hard outs and walked more than you like to see, but he kept the plate pretty clean, and that’s the name of the game; congrats on his first MLB win. It’s nice to be on the right side of a blowout every so often.

Notes:

• Corey Dickerson and Kevin Newman were on fire; each had four hits and three RBI, with Corey scoring three times and K-Man once. Joey O and JHK each had two raps with a homer apiece.
• The Pirates were 6-for-14 w/RISP tonight; three of those hits were long flies. Everyone either scored or drove in a run, with five guys doing both.
• Rules written and unwritten – Kevin Newman was thrown out at home on a play that looked a lot like the ol’ illegal block of home, but tho still a rule, Clint didn’t even bother to challenge as it’s become one of baseball’s dustbin statutes.